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The following morning, Jellal was not surprised to find Wendy entering the kitchen before his wife. He had awoken without the usual fetters that were Erza's arms and legs, instead having smiled at the way they had wrapped around Wendy, somewhat suffocating the poor girl. Not that she had not looked as if in heaven.
"Good morning," Wendy rubbed her eyes as she padded onto the heated kitchen floor. Jellal could not wait to finally turn the heating off again – he had an arduous relationship with using energy and spending money on it. Would he had lived by himself, he would have probably never even thought to do as much as look for heating.
"Good morning," he greeted back. "I assume she is awake, otherwise I must ask your secret of how to escape," he grinned, drying his hands on his apron. Wendy smiled back, giggling.
"She is, but I don't think she actually got up after turning over," she pondered. His smile mellowed. That sounded like Erza alright.
Going to sit down when Jellal poured her tea, Wendy stole a glance past him. The oven was droning quietly, warming the kitchen with a sweet, vanilla-endorsed scent. Her eyes widened when he took out their breakfast, her mouth watering. She watched curiously as he prepared two more cups of tea – one of then practically containing more honey than hot water; bound to be Erza's.
The kitchen was already cleaned. The utensils he had used were now drying next to the sink, strawberries and a filled piping bag waiting for what looked like sheets of puff pastry that now cooled down. Unable to keep sitting, Wendy joined him at the counter. It did not take her long to pick up his pattern, so she plopped half a strawberry between his piped droplets of what she learned was a mixture of mostly mascarpone and condensed milk.
It was already divine in its raw stages, but put together, she was proud to have helped with such a picturesque breakfast. Worthy of the Queen of the Fairies, she found.
"It's hard to believe that I taught you how to make pancakes only a couple of months ago," she commented while they set the table. Jellal had to chuckle.
"When the sole things I could do was cooking rice or noodles,"
"And now you're serving us millefeuille in the morning…" she said unbelievingly. Arranging his wife's plate with additional strawberries – then placing a bowl with the leftover ones beside her tea – Jellal shrugged.
"Quite a lot has happened over the past few months…" he sighed with content. "I really wouldn't call myself an expert, though I do think I know a thing or two more about baking than the average housewife," he admitted. Wendy giggled. A grin stretched across his face, realising how it was not too established outside their household that they called him the housewife.
"Jellal," Erza called from the bedroom. It did not sound as if she had gotten any further than his side of the bed. Amused – not to mention enchanted by the way she called for him, beckoning him to the bed like a princess awaiting her cavalier – he left the fruit salad on the counter, and excused himself. Many weeks had passed, even since their wedding, yet he could not get tired of it all. Every sunrise, it still struck him like lightning and raised him into heaven until sunset.
Tiptoeing, he expected her to be hugging a pillow, buried within the countless sheets. Almost to his disappointment, Jellal found her sitting up, legs thrown over his side of the bed. She was unbuttoning his shirt that she had slept in – they would switch every night, basking in each other's scent. Met with her beautiful back wherever a fiery waterfall of scarlet revealed it, Jellal encircled the bed.
A smile stretched across her lips, and Erza hummed gladly, yet longingly when he placed a kiss on her forehead.
"How soon is soon?" She tilted her head. She was trying to weasel out of their agreement, he knew, but he was prepared for that pouting lower lip.
"And I thought you were sleepy,"
"Not too sleepy for that," she smirked.
"Three days," he declared, "three days counting from the day on when I will not need to blow my nose a single time in twenty-four hours," he decided. Erza frowned, her pout growing.
"Did you have to yesterday?"
"Twice, I think," he pondered.
"Then let's make today the first day," her eyes shone, and he could not help but return it. This was Erza after all – he could well imagine that if she chose not to be sick anymore, she would not be. Still, he would not take the risk.
"How about breakfast, my love?" He offered his hand. Erza stuffed his shirt beneath the pillow. Then her body glowed, and she accepted his aid once her clothes came into place. She had decided on the salmon summer dress with the butterfly sleeves they had bought in the maternity shop in Caelum. He had to smile when remembering that. "Would you like to venture a guess on who exploited his promotion?"
"Strawberries!" Erza caught on immediately. Jellal taking advantage of the Council by honouring his merit could only mean one thing – something for her. She threw her arms around his neck, pecking his cheek repeatedly. "Oh, I almost forgot," her feet returned to the ground, but her hands remained behind his neck, "Meredy said she wanted to come right about-" a knock on the door cut her off, "now."
"Good thing I made more in case someone else craved for a second dessert," Jellal's gaze turned warm, a hand coming to cup her belly. Finding her eyes, his own plunged into them. Had Meredy not kept knocking louder and louder, he was sure he would not have been able to tear away any time soon. Or been able to resist her lips as per his word.
Upon opening the door, Meredy was nowhere near annoyed about having to wait. Excitedly, her glances flashed between Jellal's relaxed features and the baby belly more than once during breakfast.
"You know what would go perfect with this?" She pointed her fork at her millefeuille, legs crossed at her ankles where she leaned against the counter. "Coffee."
"Coffee?" Jellal – standing next to her as only two chairs fit around the table – raised a single brow. She had said it as if prophesising their saviour. "Richard finally got you to try some?"
"Yes!" She immediately hissed with zeal. "And it's the best thing in the world – it even tops this," she prodded her dessert-breakfast once more. Erza shook her head, making her husband smile. "It tops, like, everything! Seriously, it's not just Richard who excels – but he really is good at what he does – 'cause I went to several cafés and all the coffee is just-" she pressed her lips together, eyes closing as she brought her thumb and index finger together in an appraising gesture. "Coffee," she sighed.
While Erza kept shaking her head, Jellal had to chuckle. Exchanging a glance with Wendy, they shared an amused smile.
"Don't become addicted," he mildly chided.
"Says the right person," Meredy stuck out her tongue. He could see how the sparkle in her eyes changed from one kind of enthusiasm to the next. She had missed this as much as him. It reminded him of something, but he preferred waiting until they were alone. Wendy had enough adult topics to deal with.
"You can't marry coffee, Meredy," Jellal only gave back.
"You try it and tell me it's not the most delicious thing in Fiore," she dared. He returned a shrug.
"I like tea," he non-committally said. He did not dislike coffee per se, but he could not quite vouch for her passion.
"I don't like coffee either," Erza piped up. "It's too bitter," she accused. At the same time, she unsuspiciously tapped her plate – her empty plate. A broad smile growing across his lips, Jellal went to pick it up. Yet another millefeuille and a sumptuous helping of fruit salad landed in front of her not a minute later.
"What?" Meredy nearly gasped. "It's the beverage of the gods! Liquid paradise!"
"Perhaps you should switch to decaf," Jellal muttered. She fired a glare at him.
"How can anyone not love it?"
"That's just the way it is," Erza argued nonchalantly. They had to wait for her to finish her point, because she was unable to wait with stuffing more food into her mouth. "It's coffee; it's always one thing or another – either you love it or you hate it,"
"Like mould cheese," Jellal supplied.
"Or cats," Meredy pensively agreed.
"Wait," Jellal turned to her at that. "How can anyone not like cats?" He asked, taken aback. Meredy just blinked back for a second, cheeks full of dough and crème. All three girls seemed to have munched on at the same time, a content silence interrupted by nothing but chewing.
Although Wendy was keeping quiet, she was enjoying herself as much as the others. Working on diminishing her second helping, she smiled alongside their debate, feet clandestinely overlapping with Erza's under the table.
"Many people don't. They're often selfish and moody – the cats," Meredy finally said, voice still slightly muffled.
"Not even kittens?" Jellal's brows furrowed with pity. Shaking her head, she exhaled strongly in silent laughter at how he let his own hang. So she patted his shoulder supportively. He gave her an annoyed pout in return.
"Is there any more?" Erza hopefully asked, back to clinking her fork to her plate. By far less suspicious, now that his attention had drifted. Jellal raised his head, amusement returning to his eyes.
"You annihilated it all," he apologised. She grumbled something to herself. When he showed her the equally empty bowl of fruit salad, Erza rose from her seat.
"Let's get ready then," her gaze landed on Wendy. "Can I ask you to braid my hair today?" She was met with a smile bigger than hers, a hasty gulp and then hefty nodding. The chair's legs scraped as Wendy eagerly followed to the bathroom. Imagining the setting reminded Jellal of his resolution again, so he followed them, only to return to the kitchen with a hand in his pocket.
Meredy was not suspecting a thing. Humming merrily, she was busy collecting the plates, rinsing crumbs off in the sink. Regardless of not knowing about his wife's talk with Wendy, Jellal saw a lot of the young Dragon Slayer in his best friend – a child at heart though with the sense for responsibility of an adult.
"Meredy," Jellal announced himself. "You are going to be my new experiment," he said. He did not want to give himself the opportunity to back out or change switch topics. Unsettled, she turned only slowly.
"What?"
"I have to- no, I want to learn how to let go and give freedom," he explained. "I can't be glued to my baby forever and protect them, and I want them to make their own decisions and experiences without me interfering all the time. But first, I have to learn that, and I'm starting with you," he took a breath, attempting a smile, "something I should have done ages ago," he added, scratching the back of his neck.
She tilted her head. Jellal changing himself was nothing new by now, but admitting to it – talking about it – was something she was not used to.
"Does that mean you're gonna let me wear what I want from now on?" She tried. He could hear the scepticism in her voice, yet the hopefulness was just as audible.
Reluctantly, he sighed in defeat.
"It's not like I can stop you,"
"Yes, you can," Meredy said without batting an eye. "I always feel guilty and kinda... stalked. I constantly expect you to jump up from behind a bush and broom me," she crossed her arms. Soap water dripped down her sides, but she refused to leave the defiant stance. With another, different sigh about her stubbornness, Jellal handed her a towel.
"Broom you?"
"Hit me with a broom," she illuminated, taking the towel.
"I'd never hit you with anything,"
"Maybe as payback for when I slapped you with a broom back then?" She grinned innocently. Sheepishly, too, he saw, mellowing him.
Hesitating nonetheless, Jellal won his inner fight, finally producing the small box from his pocket.
"I'm serious," he said, placing the item on the counter between them, "starting with this." Meredy stared at it. Her eyes widened, unbelievingly darting up to his. "We won't be needing them for months to come, and I still want you to go to the pharmacy first to ask if they are suited for you, too, but…" he shoved the contraception pills over, "here."
Meredy watched him for a moment longer, as if waiting for him to take it back or dissolve since it seemed more like a dream than reality.
"We're ready," Erza's voice interrupted. Down the hall, her clothes were glowing where she summoned a coat and boots. Wendy was putting on her own jacket, so Jellal joined them, Meredy on his heels. "We'll meet you at the guild; we're going to Porlyusica first for a routine check-up," Erza informed the girls.
"See you there," Jellal smiled at Wendy, then at Meredy. The latter let her eyes soften, an unspoken, still unbelieving gratitude shining in them.
"See you there."
"She could have said it more nicely," Jellal pulled a face. She gave his hand a squeeze, then detangled her fingers from his.
"That's just the way she is," Erza shrugged. Letting her coat slide off her shoulders as the long walk back to the guild had warmed her up sufficiently, she noticed too late not to have used magic. She blamed Jellal, knowing that she had never copied the habit of undressing normally from anyone until having moved in with him. "Whether it's a thing pressing against my lungs or the baby needing more space doesn't matter to her – I'm just glad to know my accelerated breathing is not uncommon,"
"Me too," Jellal sighed. She stored her coat away in her dimension, and a smile edged its way onto her features when Jellal did not hesitate for a second to take her freed hand once more. He was nervous, but so was she. The guild was only a few metres away now.
She felt his hand tense as they walked in, a few heads turning.
"Erza!" Macao, sitting close to the gates, greeted them. More and more heads turned, her name being called, and she even heard a few 'Jellals' amongst all the louder growing 'Erzas'. Her own hand becoming a little rigid, she squeezed his to reassure them both.
"Welcome-" Mira's voice was interrupted almost as soon as it had come.
"Erza's fat!" Natsu yelled at the top of his lungs, pointing incredulously. Lucy slapped his arm hard, an insult following suit. The next thing they heard was a thud, then shattering glasses. Mira had fainted. The guild all but sprung up from their seats, the squeaking and falling benched drowned out in the uproar that was their discovery of her pregnancy.
It did not take longer than two blinks for her team to arrive, other members clustering around the small circle that had formed.
"Oh, Erza!" Levy hugged her, both equally circumventing their round bellies. "Congratulations! This is so amazing," she raved, keeping hold of Erza's hands. It bolted through her like an electric shock, spreading warmth throughout her entire body. The first time someone had congratulated them – she realised how she did not care anymore who it was, because it felt too good to miss out on.
More and more congratulations sounded, Elfman's manly comment and Cana's reasoning to drink even more amongst the laughter and marvelling gasps.
"It's so big; are you having more than Levy?" Juvia's eyes grew in size, and Lucy's followed suit where she was done explaining to Natsu how pregnancy did not equal fat. Happy's snickering of how she was going to lay an egg did not slip Erza's attention.
"No, just one, according to Porlyusica," Erza disclosed.
"But then you're like…" Levy began to count in her head, brows furrowing at the month she must have arrived at.
"We're so glad you're back," Wendy, even though she had seen them all night, came to hug Erza from the side. Putting a hand on the top of her head, Erza returned the beaming smile she received from below.
"We really are," Lucy joined in, eyes flashing from Natsu to Grey with a much-saying grimace.
"Next time around," Meredy said from where she knelt next to an almost creepily-grinning, unconscious Mirajane, fanning her face with a Sorcerer Weekly, "you don't have to go through all the trouble though – a postcard would have sufficed as souvenir," she jested. The group laughed, and the girls immediately started to rave about the cards they had, in fact, received.
Levy's knowing glance never changed though, as she must have come to the conclusion of how a few weeks of honeymoon and Era did not quite make the cut. When glancing at Lucy, leaning over to whisper her suspicion, she nearly gasped, indignant with how her friend was not too surprised with the news, yet had not let a word pass her lips.
"Looks like you're joining Club Gajeel," Grey commented, grinning at Jellal with a mixture of amusement and sympathy. Jellal returned a somewhat uneasy chuckle, and Erza felt the warmth inside her flare up once again. Catching Grey's eyes, she returned his smile with gratefulness at how he included her husband. She knew the latter was not too content with all the attention, but the mention of someone in the same boat as him already eased her own conscience.
"So it's like a mini-Erza," Natsu was on his way to understand what was happening. Had Levy not already been known to be pregnant, it might have taken a while longer. "Can I see it?" He shoved his way past the girls, raking up Erza's sweater. His face showed the same incomprehension as that of the boy back at the Council.
"It's not ready yet," Erza said. Pulling down her jumper, she rubbed up and down for a moment. "But when it is, it will keep you in check the way I do," she smirked. The guild roared with laughter at the cheeky comment. Before Natsu had the chance to retort, she had grabbed his wrist and the tips of his fingers, placing his outstretched palm on her belly.
His mouth opened anew for complaints, when all that came was a sudden squeak. His hair stood on end, and a shiver travelled through him, starting at his hand where the baby had kicked as a reply to its mother's ministrations.
"Mini-Erza…" Natsu whispered hoarsely, his voice still completely off pitch. Hands then started darting forward, and Erza had to step a little further into the group for her entire team to reach. When Juvia's and Grey's hands touched slightly, they twitched away from one another.
It had not gone unnoticed how they were standing at opposite sides of the half circle, and Erza could see the lingering argument cloud their eyes with uncertainty, stubbornness and a clandestine longing neither wanted to give away.
A collective flinch announced the next kick, and they all laughed, yelled and cheered at the top of their lungs, even those not having felt it or standing too far off – they were Fairy Tail after all.
Erza did not hear her friends discussing with Meredy, denouncing her of having known to which she shrugged rather proudly. Neither did she see the money exchanged where bets had gone down, or Gajeel's jaw dropping to the floor and his eyes firing up where he only just arrived.
But they were headed towards the Master's office, away from the noise and with an even fuzzier feeling in the pit of her stomach – circumventing Laxus coming down the stairs, Mira's awakening, as well as a guest entering at the same moment they closed the office door behind them.
